Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or the plot line of
Escaflowne. I do, however, own Jewel, Narisia, Blue, Rika, Kat, and the
new DS. If you wish to use any of them, please ask me first.
Author's Note: Hi everyone! Sorry this chapter has been delayed, I was sick and in bed since last Friday. But now that I'm able to write, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Oh, and don't kill me because it's a cliff hanger… In several places. Um, besides that, I have picked the first few winners of my "Shadow Warrior Auditions". And they are, Otaku Pitcher, Kay Noel, Kayano Imatou, MagicMan, RDC, Rydia, Rogue Fox, and last but not least, NeoStar22. Yes, yes, a lot of people, I know. But you'll see why I picked them. ^_^ Okay, now go read and please review!!!
Chapter Seventeen: Recruits and Puzzles
Jewel was standing in the dark field, watching Dilandau. They were to attack a small village on the southwest border of Fried. As Jewel understood it, they were with holding payments due to Zaibach for use of Zaibach's fields.
And so they were going to attack the village and destroy them. Typical Zaibach, Jewel thought disgusted. "Kat would have been pumped right about now," Dilandau suddenly said.
Jewel, who was standing only a few feet away from him, assumed her was talking to her. "She liked battle?" She asked, a little shocked. Kat didn't seem like the kind of person who loved hurting innocent people.
"She may be a Protector, but when a battle was approaching you couldn't get her to stay still. And if there was the prospect of fire…" A wishful look came over Dilandau. "Her eyes would light up with their own fire and she would get this dreamy look on her face."
Jewel grinned to herself. "Sounds like her."
An odd look came over Dilandau's face. "Yeah…"
Jewel caught the look and suddenly felt like a lost child. She looked down at the ground to hide a tear slipping from her eye. "She's been gone a long time… Do you think she's alright?"
Dilandau suddenly snorted. "Stupid question."
Then Dilandau started to move towards the village. That was the signal to move out. Jewel gave a half smile. "Yes, a stupid question," she repeated softly, whipping away the lone tear and moving out.
Jewel stood in the middle of the burning village, in what she assumed was the Town Square. So far everything was going according to plan, she supposed. Personally, she hated this. Being out in the middle of an innocent village, killing the inhabitants just for money… It was mass murder.
And so that's when she took to saving as many lives as she could. Sure, she was part of Zaibach. Sure, she wasn't obeying orders. Sure, she was a Dragon Slayer and sure she could get killed very easily. But she didn't want to be apart of a mass murder, especially one that included innocents.
Her eyes stung with tears. Why was she crying? Was it because of all the smoke? Or was it because she had witnessed a killing of a family with young children, by a Dragon Slayer who refused to show his face and hid in the smoke? The unfairness of this all… It was overwhelming. Who could do this, live like this?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a child's scream. High pitched and frightened, it seemed to be calling out to someone to save her. Her heart filled with anger, Jewel turned towards the source of the scream. Not only a few feet away, there stood Dilandau, covered in ash and some burns, sword held high over his head, ready to strike… But he wasn't. He wasn't moving.
He stood over the child-who, from what Jewel could see, had dark brown hair- frozen. His eyes were wide with a sort of fear that Jewel had never before seen. It was weird, different…
The fire was getting out of control. It was raging, and it was especially hot where Dilandau and Jewel were. The flames were high, looking as if they were licking the sky with their fiery tongues. They slithered like snakes towards Dilandau and the girl, like stealthy wolves waiting for the kill, ready to pounce.
But then… Was Jewel imagining it? There was a form in the fire, getting more defined as the fire grew, becoming more solid. Slowly, it came out from its fiery shell and showed itself to Jewel and Dilandau. There, standing behind the girl, with the flames creating a wall behind her, stood Kat-dressed in tall black boots, a short black skirt (think Sailor Scouts), a black halter top, with black driving gloves on and her hair in a high ponytail.
She stood, looking majestic, and strangely like an angel warrior… One who comes down from the heavens to protect those innocents. So strange, was the only thing Jewel could think of. Strange. The sparks and smoke mingled with the wind and blew through their hair. It was deathly quiet, no one spoke, no one moved.
Then Dilandau sheathed his sword and slowly started towards Kat. Jewel, snapping out of her reverie, saw her chance and ran towards the little girl. She skillfully scooped her up into her arms and ran the opposite directions.
But as she ran, she heard Dilandau mutter something to Kat. "You always have a way of popping up in unusual places," he said. But as he said that, Jewel realized that the girl she was holding in her arms looked strangely like Kat… "Memories always save us," she whispered.
****
Kat gave an aspirated sigh. She had been back for only a week, and already Zaibach had given her "make up time". They needed new soldiers, and she was to train them. Luckily there were only two to train today. Or, as Kat liked to think of it, only double the more work. "Okay, let's try this from the top people!" She called.
A boy with slightly longer-then shoulder-length light brown hair, 5'7", and cloudy blue-gray eyes stepped forward. "Xenon DaBona."
Then a girl, 5"4', with shoulder length black hair with neon green tips, and hunter green eyes stepped forward. "Kendall Woodlen."
Kat knew by now that both recruits were good choices. Kendall was short, with a bit better muscle build then Xenon. Now Xenon had a good trim and looked very agile. But there was something about Xenon that Kat couldn't quite put her finger on…
"Ready?" Kat didn't wait for a reply. "Bow, draw, attack!"
Both students whirled around to face each other. They bowed, then drew their swords. At first they just stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Then finally Xenon made it. It was a good start, Kat thought. He had good speed and the right angle, but his form was terrible. Kendall was able to deflect the attack and come back with a stronger one.
But as things went, they didn't last very long. They were unseasoned, their muscles untoned and no experience. They only had what they had been taught and their instincts to fall back on. Which was okay, but not in Zaibach.
In the end Xenon disarmed Kendall with a well-aimed thrust, but Kendall came back by tripping Xenon up. Then Xenon dropped his sword as he fell, and Kendall almost beheaded herself trying to catch it. Kat sighed and rolled her eyes.
"I'll give you this much, you're both gifted at dueling. But you need a lot more training and a whole lot more experience. Okay, tomorrow, here, eighteen hundred hours. The one to be late will get a private session, with Lord Dilandau," Kat shouted. Both nodded and Kat left the room without another word.
Xenon got up off the floor and dusted himself off. Kendall, who was already up, walked over to him and handed his sword back. Xenon took the plain sword and sheathed it. Then he stuck out his hand and smiled at Kendall. "Nice match."
Kendall's eyes darted over his hand before she took it. "Any good at archery?"
Xenon shook his head. "'Fraid not. Never had talent or enough strength for it. I'm more into the books and libraries."
"I see. It looks from here on out we're to be training together."
"Yeah, it does look that way."
Kendall threw back her dark hair with a toss of her head. "So where you from? You have good arms, so I'm guessing you're from a farm. Am I right?"
Xenon smiled. "Yeah, you are. On the border of Freid."
"Ah. You had sisters, I'm guessing."
Xenon looked a little shocked. "Four in fact. How'd you-"
"Lack of scars, and that you're way too nice to have brothers."
"Quite the observer, you are."
"Yup."
"So tell me, where are you from?"
Kendall visibly stiffened. "From the Mystic Moon. I was brought here on a wing and a prayer, you could say. Bad family."
Xenon nodded, and sensing that this was not a topic they should discuss, quickly changed the subject. "Nice sword."
Kendall looked down at the sword she was holding. "Thanks." The sword was nice, with a perfectly balanced blade, super sharp, and a solid gold hilt. The hilt had vines engraved in it, and where blossoms were supposed to be there were fairly large opals. And the butt of the sword was a diamond. Along the blade there were vines also, and an inscription that Kendall couldn't read.
"So want to grab something to eat with me? I'm famished, and I'm guessing that it's dinner time," Xenon asked.
"Sure."
Together the two left the training room, talking about various things.
****
Jewel was sitting in her room; idly flipping through a book Quin had leant her. She really hated to say it, but she was actually growing found of the assortment of Slayers. Even though she thought of them as killers and mad men… they were good friends and a fun time waiting to happen.
She sighed and looked down at the book. She supposed that they were okay and they were just following orders… Suddenly her eyes widened in shock. There, on the page of the book… She jumped off the bed, grabbed the book, and ran out of the room.
Maybe this was the key…
****
A small group of people stood in a field around a very small campfire. There were two men, and four women. They all had dirty faces, but as you looked at them you could tell that they were all there for the same reason.
One woman, 5'9" with a quiver of arrows on her back and a bow, stood apart from the small group. She had a warrior's stature, even though she had little muscle, there was a feeling that she had the power of a thousand warriors within her. She also held a sense of power about her. Her long jet-black hair swayed in the slight breeze, and her crimson eyes glowed eerily in the night. People knew her as Cle.
What seemed to be the leader of the group, a woman who was sleek and tall, with dark pink hair that had bright white highlights in it, sat nearest the fire. Her light pink eyes held an odd emotion in them, her high jaw line was set, and her thin lips were pulled into a frown. The others knew her as Kianna.
The two men stood side by side behind the leader. One, 5'8", with brown eyes, thin black framed glasses, and kind of stocky, with fluffy chocolate colored hair, seemed to be thinking of something. He was known as Brandon. The other man, who looked about the oldest (25), stood next to Brandon. He was 6'2", short blonde hair, was sinewy and had enough muscle for him to fight with. He was known as Josh.
The last two females stood a part from each other. One was 5'6", with shoulder blade length dirty blonde hair and gray eyes that seemed to have tons of other colors mixed in with it. She was slim, but looked strong. Her name was Vixen.
The last woman was 5'4", with shoulder length dark brown hair, and crystal clear blue eyes. She was thin, but held an odd sense of magic within her. She was known as Rydia.
Kianna looked up at her small group. All were wearing Fanellian crests upon their armor. "We're near our pray. Soon we'll have out prize back," she said.
Everyone nodded in agreement. It wouldn't be long before the raptor felt the pain of being hunted. Not long…
*~~*
TBC…
Author's Note: Okay, cliff hanger in several places. Didn't know I could do that now, did ya? Well, I have! And, just for information, I still have places for people in this story. Oh yeah, and I'm not posting until I get… Hm…At least 60 reviews for this! 60 or more and I will be happy! Okay, now for the character info.
Rydia = Rydia
Vixen = Rogue Fox
Cle = Kayano Imatou
Josh = NeoStar22
Brandon = MagicMan
Kianna = RDC
Kendall = Kay Noel
Xenon = Otaku Pitcher
Review please or else I won't post again!!! Thanks!
Author's Note: Hi everyone! Sorry this chapter has been delayed, I was sick and in bed since last Friday. But now that I'm able to write, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Oh, and don't kill me because it's a cliff hanger… In several places. Um, besides that, I have picked the first few winners of my "Shadow Warrior Auditions". And they are, Otaku Pitcher, Kay Noel, Kayano Imatou, MagicMan, RDC, Rydia, Rogue Fox, and last but not least, NeoStar22. Yes, yes, a lot of people, I know. But you'll see why I picked them. ^_^ Okay, now go read and please review!!!
Chapter Seventeen: Recruits and Puzzles
Jewel was standing in the dark field, watching Dilandau. They were to attack a small village on the southwest border of Fried. As Jewel understood it, they were with holding payments due to Zaibach for use of Zaibach's fields.
And so they were going to attack the village and destroy them. Typical Zaibach, Jewel thought disgusted. "Kat would have been pumped right about now," Dilandau suddenly said.
Jewel, who was standing only a few feet away from him, assumed her was talking to her. "She liked battle?" She asked, a little shocked. Kat didn't seem like the kind of person who loved hurting innocent people.
"She may be a Protector, but when a battle was approaching you couldn't get her to stay still. And if there was the prospect of fire…" A wishful look came over Dilandau. "Her eyes would light up with their own fire and she would get this dreamy look on her face."
Jewel grinned to herself. "Sounds like her."
An odd look came over Dilandau's face. "Yeah…"
Jewel caught the look and suddenly felt like a lost child. She looked down at the ground to hide a tear slipping from her eye. "She's been gone a long time… Do you think she's alright?"
Dilandau suddenly snorted. "Stupid question."
Then Dilandau started to move towards the village. That was the signal to move out. Jewel gave a half smile. "Yes, a stupid question," she repeated softly, whipping away the lone tear and moving out.
Jewel stood in the middle of the burning village, in what she assumed was the Town Square. So far everything was going according to plan, she supposed. Personally, she hated this. Being out in the middle of an innocent village, killing the inhabitants just for money… It was mass murder.
And so that's when she took to saving as many lives as she could. Sure, she was part of Zaibach. Sure, she wasn't obeying orders. Sure, she was a Dragon Slayer and sure she could get killed very easily. But she didn't want to be apart of a mass murder, especially one that included innocents.
Her eyes stung with tears. Why was she crying? Was it because of all the smoke? Or was it because she had witnessed a killing of a family with young children, by a Dragon Slayer who refused to show his face and hid in the smoke? The unfairness of this all… It was overwhelming. Who could do this, live like this?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a child's scream. High pitched and frightened, it seemed to be calling out to someone to save her. Her heart filled with anger, Jewel turned towards the source of the scream. Not only a few feet away, there stood Dilandau, covered in ash and some burns, sword held high over his head, ready to strike… But he wasn't. He wasn't moving.
He stood over the child-who, from what Jewel could see, had dark brown hair- frozen. His eyes were wide with a sort of fear that Jewel had never before seen. It was weird, different…
The fire was getting out of control. It was raging, and it was especially hot where Dilandau and Jewel were. The flames were high, looking as if they were licking the sky with their fiery tongues. They slithered like snakes towards Dilandau and the girl, like stealthy wolves waiting for the kill, ready to pounce.
But then… Was Jewel imagining it? There was a form in the fire, getting more defined as the fire grew, becoming more solid. Slowly, it came out from its fiery shell and showed itself to Jewel and Dilandau. There, standing behind the girl, with the flames creating a wall behind her, stood Kat-dressed in tall black boots, a short black skirt (think Sailor Scouts), a black halter top, with black driving gloves on and her hair in a high ponytail.
She stood, looking majestic, and strangely like an angel warrior… One who comes down from the heavens to protect those innocents. So strange, was the only thing Jewel could think of. Strange. The sparks and smoke mingled with the wind and blew through their hair. It was deathly quiet, no one spoke, no one moved.
Then Dilandau sheathed his sword and slowly started towards Kat. Jewel, snapping out of her reverie, saw her chance and ran towards the little girl. She skillfully scooped her up into her arms and ran the opposite directions.
But as she ran, she heard Dilandau mutter something to Kat. "You always have a way of popping up in unusual places," he said. But as he said that, Jewel realized that the girl she was holding in her arms looked strangely like Kat… "Memories always save us," she whispered.
****
Kat gave an aspirated sigh. She had been back for only a week, and already Zaibach had given her "make up time". They needed new soldiers, and she was to train them. Luckily there were only two to train today. Or, as Kat liked to think of it, only double the more work. "Okay, let's try this from the top people!" She called.
A boy with slightly longer-then shoulder-length light brown hair, 5'7", and cloudy blue-gray eyes stepped forward. "Xenon DaBona."
Then a girl, 5"4', with shoulder length black hair with neon green tips, and hunter green eyes stepped forward. "Kendall Woodlen."
Kat knew by now that both recruits were good choices. Kendall was short, with a bit better muscle build then Xenon. Now Xenon had a good trim and looked very agile. But there was something about Xenon that Kat couldn't quite put her finger on…
"Ready?" Kat didn't wait for a reply. "Bow, draw, attack!"
Both students whirled around to face each other. They bowed, then drew their swords. At first they just stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Then finally Xenon made it. It was a good start, Kat thought. He had good speed and the right angle, but his form was terrible. Kendall was able to deflect the attack and come back with a stronger one.
But as things went, they didn't last very long. They were unseasoned, their muscles untoned and no experience. They only had what they had been taught and their instincts to fall back on. Which was okay, but not in Zaibach.
In the end Xenon disarmed Kendall with a well-aimed thrust, but Kendall came back by tripping Xenon up. Then Xenon dropped his sword as he fell, and Kendall almost beheaded herself trying to catch it. Kat sighed and rolled her eyes.
"I'll give you this much, you're both gifted at dueling. But you need a lot more training and a whole lot more experience. Okay, tomorrow, here, eighteen hundred hours. The one to be late will get a private session, with Lord Dilandau," Kat shouted. Both nodded and Kat left the room without another word.
Xenon got up off the floor and dusted himself off. Kendall, who was already up, walked over to him and handed his sword back. Xenon took the plain sword and sheathed it. Then he stuck out his hand and smiled at Kendall. "Nice match."
Kendall's eyes darted over his hand before she took it. "Any good at archery?"
Xenon shook his head. "'Fraid not. Never had talent or enough strength for it. I'm more into the books and libraries."
"I see. It looks from here on out we're to be training together."
"Yeah, it does look that way."
Kendall threw back her dark hair with a toss of her head. "So where you from? You have good arms, so I'm guessing you're from a farm. Am I right?"
Xenon smiled. "Yeah, you are. On the border of Freid."
"Ah. You had sisters, I'm guessing."
Xenon looked a little shocked. "Four in fact. How'd you-"
"Lack of scars, and that you're way too nice to have brothers."
"Quite the observer, you are."
"Yup."
"So tell me, where are you from?"
Kendall visibly stiffened. "From the Mystic Moon. I was brought here on a wing and a prayer, you could say. Bad family."
Xenon nodded, and sensing that this was not a topic they should discuss, quickly changed the subject. "Nice sword."
Kendall looked down at the sword she was holding. "Thanks." The sword was nice, with a perfectly balanced blade, super sharp, and a solid gold hilt. The hilt had vines engraved in it, and where blossoms were supposed to be there were fairly large opals. And the butt of the sword was a diamond. Along the blade there were vines also, and an inscription that Kendall couldn't read.
"So want to grab something to eat with me? I'm famished, and I'm guessing that it's dinner time," Xenon asked.
"Sure."
Together the two left the training room, talking about various things.
****
Jewel was sitting in her room; idly flipping through a book Quin had leant her. She really hated to say it, but she was actually growing found of the assortment of Slayers. Even though she thought of them as killers and mad men… they were good friends and a fun time waiting to happen.
She sighed and looked down at the book. She supposed that they were okay and they were just following orders… Suddenly her eyes widened in shock. There, on the page of the book… She jumped off the bed, grabbed the book, and ran out of the room.
Maybe this was the key…
****
A small group of people stood in a field around a very small campfire. There were two men, and four women. They all had dirty faces, but as you looked at them you could tell that they were all there for the same reason.
One woman, 5'9" with a quiver of arrows on her back and a bow, stood apart from the small group. She had a warrior's stature, even though she had little muscle, there was a feeling that she had the power of a thousand warriors within her. She also held a sense of power about her. Her long jet-black hair swayed in the slight breeze, and her crimson eyes glowed eerily in the night. People knew her as Cle.
What seemed to be the leader of the group, a woman who was sleek and tall, with dark pink hair that had bright white highlights in it, sat nearest the fire. Her light pink eyes held an odd emotion in them, her high jaw line was set, and her thin lips were pulled into a frown. The others knew her as Kianna.
The two men stood side by side behind the leader. One, 5'8", with brown eyes, thin black framed glasses, and kind of stocky, with fluffy chocolate colored hair, seemed to be thinking of something. He was known as Brandon. The other man, who looked about the oldest (25), stood next to Brandon. He was 6'2", short blonde hair, was sinewy and had enough muscle for him to fight with. He was known as Josh.
The last two females stood a part from each other. One was 5'6", with shoulder blade length dirty blonde hair and gray eyes that seemed to have tons of other colors mixed in with it. She was slim, but looked strong. Her name was Vixen.
The last woman was 5'4", with shoulder length dark brown hair, and crystal clear blue eyes. She was thin, but held an odd sense of magic within her. She was known as Rydia.
Kianna looked up at her small group. All were wearing Fanellian crests upon their armor. "We're near our pray. Soon we'll have out prize back," she said.
Everyone nodded in agreement. It wouldn't be long before the raptor felt the pain of being hunted. Not long…
*~~*
TBC…
Author's Note: Okay, cliff hanger in several places. Didn't know I could do that now, did ya? Well, I have! And, just for information, I still have places for people in this story. Oh yeah, and I'm not posting until I get… Hm…At least 60 reviews for this! 60 or more and I will be happy! Okay, now for the character info.
Rydia = Rydia
Vixen = Rogue Fox
Cle = Kayano Imatou
Josh = NeoStar22
Brandon = MagicMan
Kianna = RDC
Kendall = Kay Noel
Xenon = Otaku Pitcher
Review please or else I won't post again!!! Thanks!